November 2009

Black Friday Deals Online: BEST Websites For Black Friday 2009 Sales, Discounts

November 26, 2009

The holiday shopping season is kicking into full force now that Thanksgiving is here. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday just around the corner, some may prefer to stay home and do their shopping online. There’s plenty of great deals to be had online, and Iteya created the ultimate list of 101 websites to find the best deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2009. On the top of the rankings were: 1. Amazon : Free Super Saving Shipping on $25+ orders 2. eBay : Up to 90% off retail for some items 3. Fingerhut : Low monthly payments and six special offers 4. Walmart : Big markdowns on certain products 5. Kmart : $5 off $50 purchase with code KMART5OFF50 6. ShopNBC : Four special offers including 15% off first order 7. Sears : $5 off $50 purchase with code SEARS5OFF50 8. Buy.com : $5 off $100 orders or $10 off $200 orders 9. Target : Free shipping on more than 100,000 items when spend $50 10. Macy’s : Savings of 20-60% on more than 25,000 items See Iteya’s Full List Of The 101 Best Online Sites For Black Friday 2009 Deals.

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Greece Set for EU Rebuke on `Insufficient’ Budget Reduction, Draft Shows

November 26, 2009

By Meera Louis and Maria Petrakis Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — European Union finance ministers will reprimand Greece next week for failing to take “credible and sustainable” measures to reduce its budget deficit toward the EU limit of 3 percent of output, a draft document shows. Significant revenue shortfalls and expenditure overruns “led to a strong deterioration in Greece’s budgetary position in 2009, which can only partly be attributed to the deterioration of the macroeconomic conditions,” according to the document, obtained by Bloomberg News. They are “mainly due to an insufficient response by the Greek authorities.” The document, prepared by a group composed of officials from the 27 EU nations, the European Central Bank and the European Commission, will be discussed by finance ministers at a meeting in Brussels on Dec. 1 and 2. Unlike other euro-area nations, all of which will have deficits exceeding 3 percent of gross domestic product next year, Greece has yet to receive an extension to the 2010 deadline to cut its deficit below the ceiling. Greece’s economy will contract 0.3 percent next year, compared with growth of 0.7 percent in the euro-region as a whole, the EU forecast Nov. 3. Greece, which has met the EU deficit limit only once since adopting the euro in 2001, revised its forecast for the shortfall from a 3.7 percent for this year to 6 percent in September. After Oct. 4 elections, which ushered in a new socialist government led by George Papandreou , the target rose to 12.7 percent, more than four times the EU limit, prompting Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia to say Greece’s finances have become a “concern for the whole euro area.” Rating Cut The country’s credit rating was cut one step to A- by Fitch Ratings last month and Moody’s Investors Service placed the ratings on review for a possible downgrade after Greece increased the estimates for its deficit. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet has said the country’s finances and revisions of its economic data have dented its credibility. The difference in yield, or spread, between 10-year Greek government bonds and equivalent-maturity German bunds widened 9 basis points today to 188, the biggest gap since June 9. Greece’s benchmark ASE stock index has fallen 18 percent in the past month, the largest slide among western European benchmarks. Public finances deteriorated as many of the deficit-control measures adopted this year were never implemented. The government failed to control spending and was unable to make good on pledges to boost tax collection. The EU opened its first investigation into Greece’s deficit in 2004 after a revision of data revealed that, contrary to previous indications, the deficit had exceeded the EU ceiling every year since the country adopted the euro. The commission remains critical of Greek statistics, which are “manifestly inadequate,” the document said. Greece’s economic data from October 2009 still haven’t been validated due to commission queries over the figures, the report said. The commission said Nov. 3 that Greece would make little progress in reducing its shortfall, estimating a deficit of 12.2 percent next year and 12.8 percent in 2011 on a “no- policy- change” basis. The government has said it will bring the shortfall down to 9.1 percent next year though a combination of tighter controls on spending and renewed vigor in collecting taxes and cracking down on evasion. Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou is seeking to convince the EU to grant Greece an extension to the 2010 deadline for meeting the 3 percent deficit target. That may occur after the commission evaluates the new socialist government’s budget and mid-term economic plan, due in January. To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Petrakis in Athens at mpetrakis@bloomberg.net

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U.K. Retailers Avoid Christmas `Armageddon’ Repeat With Fewer Discounts

November 26, 2009

By Sarah Shannon Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — A year after swaths of panic price cuts led to a Christmas “Armageddon” for U.K. retailers, Britons may find it harder to get a bargain before the holiday. Marks & Spencer Group Plc, New Look Group Ltd. and House of Fraser Ltd. are among stores that say they don’t plan full-scale discounting before Dec. 25. With consumer optimism holding at an 18-month high, shoppers may still spend more in December than a year ago, according to researcher Mintel International. “I can’t see last year’s level of disorder on the high street,” New Look Finance Director Alistair Miller said in an interview with Bloomberg News. Going on sale before the holiday “is an absolutely suicidal move for retailers.” According to analysis conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, only 43 percent of town-center retailers offered discounts or ran promotions this week, compared with 62 percent a year ago. Ninety of Britain’s 100 biggest store owners started discounting before Christmas last year as the financial crisis that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. caused consumers to slash their holiday budgets. “There’s much less blanket discounts this year,” said Richard Dickinson, chief executive officer of the New West End Company , the organization which represents retailers in central London’s main shopping district. “Stores have been much more astute about ordering. What people are doing is much more event driven and promotion driven.” No ‘Armageddon’ Only 40 percent of central London retailers are planning pre-holiday discount days this year, according to Dickinson. Numis Securities analyst Andy Wade expects Christmas to be “a lot stronger” for profitability as discounting subsides. Marks & Spencer’s gross margin narrowed by 1.7 percentage points in its last fiscal year after the retailer held two “Christmas Spectaculars,” one-day events in which the price of almost all products was cut by 20 percent. Those won’t be repeated this year, according to Executive Chairman Stuart Rose , who said this month that the “Armageddon” scenario of 2008 has now passed. M&S, the U.K.’s largest clothing retailer, will “trade full price through Christmas,” Rose said. Instead of price cuts, the London-based company will rely on 1,000 new products such as a 45-pound ($75.2) Christmas dinner for four people, and a 10 million-pound advertisement campaign featuring stars from the Absolutely Fabulous television series. Smaller Discounts House of Fraser Plc, the U.K.’s third-largest department- store chain, will only run “targeted promotions” such as 25 pounds off party-wear in the run up to Christmas, spokeswoman Clotilde Gros said. Last year, the retailer offered price cuts of as much as 50 percent before the holiday. New Look, the owner of 610 budget fashion outlets, will run promotions on party dresses later in the holiday season and start discounting by as much as 70 percent from Dec. 26, Miller said. “Compared to the build up to 2008’s doom and gloom laden Christmas period, 2009 is looking much more positive,” said Jon Wright , retailing manager at market researcher Euromonitor. “Retailers have cut their cloth accordingly in terms of inventory, staffing, merchandising activities and promotion.” According to PWC, stores were offering smaller discounts of about 25 percent this week, down from 40 percent a year ago. Mintel forecasts that December retail sales will rise by 2 percent after declining 1.7 percent in the same month last year. The lowest interest rates on record and improving house prices have buoyed Britons willingness to spend, according to Richard Hyman , strategic retail adviser to Deloitte & Touche LLP. Debenhams, John Lewis “I certainly feel more confident about the economy,” said Joanne Burrows, 61, as she shopped for gifts on London’s Oxford Street. “My husband and I are feeling a bit more certain about our savings and house prices seem to have recovered a little. I’d say I’m spending more than last year.” To date, few town center retailers have followed the lead of department-store chain Debenhams Plc, which started a 250 million-pound price cutting campaign on Nov. 18, surpassing its 200 million pounds of discounts before Christmas last year. John Lewis Partnership Plc, the biggest U.K. department store owner, will start its clearance on Dec. 26 at its Trafford outlet in northwest England, spokeswoman Laura Chilvers said. All other shops will go on sale from Dec. 27. Sales at John Lewis rose 15 percent in the week ended Nov. 21 and were up more than 20 percent in the following four days, the company said today. “Christmas 2009 will be more profitable than last year thanks to a more benign competitive environment,” said Kate Calvert , an analyst at Shore Capital. Price cutting in December last year was exacerbated by closing down sales at 815 Woolworths Group Plc stores across the U.K. ‘In Denial’ Not everyone agrees that the holiday will see growth in U.K. retail sales. Verdict Research forecasts a 0.7 percent drop. Deloitte’s Hyman expects Christmas sales to be a “whisper” up on last year, only to fall by 1.5 percent in 2010 because of a planned increase in value-added tax in January and potential rises in interest rates and unemployment. “It’s extraordinary that retail has held up as well as it has given the recession, and it really is a testament to how wedded to spending the U.K. consumer is,” Hyman said. “You could say they are in denial.” On Oxford Street, 37-year-old Caroline Chambers said she can afford to spend more on gifts than she did last year. “My husband feels more secure in his job and that’s made a big difference to how we feel about spending,” Chambers said. “I’m not that worried about next year. Things are improving.” To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Shannon in London at sshannon4@bloomberg.net .

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Al-Qaeda Terror Attack Threat May Be Waning, Former British Spy Chief Says

November 26, 2009

By Brian Lysaght Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — The al-Qaeda terrorist network may be losing its capacity to carry out large-scale attacks in the U.S. and U.K. because of improved security, Richard Dearlove , former chief of Britain’s MI6 spy agency, said. “It could be the movement is past the high point in its ability to mount mass-casualty events in the West,” Dearlove, 64, said in an interview in London late yesterday. “It’s because the bar has been raised, the door has been shut.” Dearlove served as chief of MI6, known officially as the Secret Intelligence Service, from 1999 to 2004, a period that included the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. “There is much more international security cooperation,” he said, though “the threat is not completely removed.” In a speech on defense issues at London’s Gresham College , Dearlove also said the British government sent troops to Afghanistan without sufficient equipment, and that a “surge” in North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces, followed by a negotiated settlement with the Taliban, is the “only solution” to the war. “Our armed forces have been under-resourced, this is a basic fact from which there is really no escape,” he said. “The Treasury has been squeezing the defense budget for approximately eight years.” In the past two years, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has faced mounting criticism from lawmakers, members of the armed forces and military families who say the equipment supplied to U.K. forces in Afghanistan is inadequate, especially helicopters and armored vehicles. Support Declines British support for the war in Afghanistan has declined as the number of combat deaths increased, according to opinion polls. Dearlove also said the U.K. government has failed to adequately explain why British troops are in Afghanistan. The war is as much about ensuring stability in neighboring Pakistan and securing its nuclear arsenal as routing the Taliban and its al-Qaeda allies, he said. Annual funding for the Afghan mission has been increased in recent years, and Brown and his cabinet ministers continue to make the case publicly for why British troops are in the country, a spokesman for the prime minister said in a telephone interview. The spokesman declined to be identified, in line with policy. U.S. Surge President Barack Obama is considering his military advisers’ request for as many as 40,000 extra U.S. troops to fight the Taliban. The U.S. contributes about 70,000 of the 110,000 members of foreign forces waging the Afghan war, which began in 2001. “If we want a negotiated settlement, we need a surge first to put pressure on the Taliban,” Dearlove said. “To leave prematurely, the price we must pay for that is extremely high and far higher than what we are paying now.” The U.K., which is mulling sending 500 more military personnel to Afghanistan, has 9,000 troops in the country, the second-largest contingent after the U.S. A total of 235 British personnel have died while serving there. Dearlove, who joined the spy agency in 1966, had postings in Nairobi, Prague and Washington. He is currently master of Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge. MI6 gathers intelligence overseas and is the employer of author Ian Fleming’s fictional agent 007, James Bond. Dearlove said that “anxiety” about the threat from terrorism and natural disasters has become a fact of modern life. “We have probably never been safer but this sense of anxiety about threats both natural and manmade is a striking characteristic of our times,” he said. To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Lysaght in London at blysaght@bloomberg.net .

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China Sets First Target to Slow CO2 Emissions as U.S. Offers 17% Reduction

November 26, 2009

By Bloomberg News Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — China, the world’s biggest polluter, set its first target aimed at slowing the growth of carbon dioxide emissions, less than two weeks before global leaders meet to negotiate a new climate change treaty. China’s announcement comes a day after the United States offered to cut emissions by about 17 percent in the coming decade. China will cut output of carbon per unit of gross domestic product by between 40 percent and 45 percent by 2020 compared with 2005 levels, according to a statement from the State Council, or cabinet, issued in Beijing today. Given the “magnitude of the climate change crisis, China needs stronger measures,” said Ailun Yang, a Beijing-based campaigner for Greenpeace China. Still, “this is a significant announcement at a very important point in time” and “another challenge to the industrialized world,” she said. The target gives the world’s fastest-growing major economy new negotiating points heading into the Copenhagen conference starting Dec. 7. Premier Wen Jiabao and U.S. President Barack Obama are among at least 66 global leaders who will seek to reach agreement on a framework for a final accord to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. Negotiations leading up to the summit have been stymied as industrialized nations and developing countries disagreed on issues such as emissions-reduction targets and how much financial help rich nations should provide to poor ones. “The United States is the biggest developed country in the world, so it should shoulder its historic responsibilities and obligations suitable to its national development level,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in Beijing today. Legislation Stalled China and India have said industrialized countries must be willing to cut their carbon output 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 if they expect poorer nations to agree to long-term reduction goals. The U.S. will be offering cuts “in the range of 17 percent” from 2005 levels by 2020, Carol Browner , Obama’s top adviser on energy and the environment, told reporters yesterday. That also marked the first time the U.S. has offered such a target. U.S. legislation backed by Obama to cut greenhouse gases and establish a market for the trading of pollution allowances passed the House in June and then stalled in the Senate. China’s targets do not mean emissions will fall, only that their growth may slow. China’s economy has more than quadrupled since 2000 to $4.3 trillion and if growth continues at that pace the country’s carbon pollution will also continue to grow. Unfair Targets President Hu Jintao in September first pledged to cut China’s so-called carbon intensity, or the amount of the pollutant emitted per unit of economic growth, by a “notable margin.” At the time, Hu didn’t announce specific targets. China has resisted calls for it to cut its carbon output, saying such measures are unfair for a developing country to undertake. Yu Qingtai, a climate-change negotiator with China’s Foreign Ministry, told reporters yesterday that rich countries such as the U.S., Japan and Germany are responsible for 80 percent of the carbon-dioxide pollution now in the atmosphere. Instead, China is pushing the development of alternative energy such as solar and wind, with a goal of generating 15 percent of all electricity from such sources by 2020. The world’s biggest photovoltaic solar plant, to be built by Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar Inc ., is set to break ground next year in Inner Mongolia. China is also working to increase energy efficiency. China also plans to increase its forest cover by 40 million hectares by 2020, which amounts to planting 60 billion trees, Yu Qingtai, a Chinese Foreign Ministry climate-change negotiator, told reporters on Nov. 25. To contact the reporter on this story: Ying Wang in Beijing at ywang30@bloomberg.net ; Baizhen Chua in Beijing at bchua14@bloomberg.net ; Michael Forsythe in Beijing at mforsythe@bloomberg.net .

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Anthony Bolton Starts China Fund for Fidelity as West `Runs Out of Steam’

November 26, 2009

By Hanny Wan Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Fidelity International’s Anthony Bolton said China’s “attractive” economic growth lured him to move to Hong Kong to set up a fund focusing on the country as recovery in the U.S. and Europe “runs out of steam.” Bolton will relocate from London in the first quarter of next year and return to managing money after stepping down from day-to-day portfolio management in 2007. “The center of gravity is shifting to this part of the world,” Bolton, 59, president of investments at Fidelity International, which manages $210.1 billion of global assets, said at a media briefing in Hong Kong today. “I want to play a bit of a part in it while I still get the chance to do it.” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has predicted China’s gross domestic product may surpass the U.S. by 2027. Bolton, who began investing in China in 2005, forecast the country would overtake Japan as the world’s second-largest market “if not this year, almost certainly next year.” “There were very few things that would persuade me to come back to money management, but China is the only thing,” Bolton said. “That’s why I’ve decided to give up sitting on the beach. This is why I’ve decided to delay my retirement.” He favors shares related to China’s domestic economy , and may invest in Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and New York, declining to be more specific about his new fund. ‘Bargain Stage Over’ China has cut interest rates five times since September 2008 and encouraged $1.3 trillion of lending to boost domestic spending as the global recession curbed demand for the country’s exports. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index has surged 67 percent this year on the credit expansion, driving its price to 16.8 times estimated earnings, up from 10.2 times at the start of the year. The mainland’s Shanghai Composite Index has rallied 74 percent in the same time. “It would have been lovely if we could have launched this fund at the beginning of this year,” Bolton said. “The bargain stage is over. But I don’t think valuations are yet in the expensive phase where one should be more shy or more cautious.” Bolton said China, whose economy grew by 8.9 percent from a year earlier in the third quarter, is “much too early for a bubble,” countering comments by China’s central bank adviser Fan Gang , who on Nov. 18 said the nation is among the emerging markets facing risks of property and commodity-market bubbles. Economic recovery in the U.S. and Europe will “run out of steam” in the first half of 2010, Bolton said. China, with the world’s largest foreign-exchange reserves of $2.3 trillion, is the U.S.’s biggest creditor, holding $798.9 billion of Treasuries as of September. ‘Mortgaging the Future’ “The economies of the western world, particularly America, the U.K., and Europe, are going to see lower growth than they saw before the financial crisis because of the cost of solving the financial crisis,” Bolton said. “They have, to a certain extent, mortgaged the future, so there’ll be a cost that they will have to over time increase taxes or reduce spending to put their own balance sheets back in order.” Bolton’s China fund will be the fourth in Fidelity’s portfolio focused on the country, according to presentation materials distributed at the media briefing. The others are: Fidelity Funds China Focus Fund with $4.08 billion, managed by Martha Wang ; and, Fidelity Funds Greater China Fund at $366 million, managed by Wilson Wong , who also oversees another China opportunities portfolio launched this month. The China Focus Fund has added 65 percent this year through Nov. 20, compared with a 61 percent gain in its benchmark MSCI China Index, according to Bloomberg data. The UBS SDIC Ruifu Classification Securities Funds – Ruifu Plus Fund , with a total return of 141 percent for the year so far, is the best performing fund investing in mainland-listed China shares this year, according to Bloomberg data. Bolton, born in 1950, joined Fidelity International in 1979, managing the Special Situations Fund until 2007, which generated an annualized return of 19.5 percent, according to company statements released today at the media briefing. To contact the reporter on this story: Hanny Wan in Hong Kong at hwan3@bloomberg.net

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Dubai Debt Rattles Confidence in Persian Gulf Borrowers

November 26, 2009

By Laura Cochrane and Tal Barak Harif Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Dubai is shaking investor confidence across the Persian Gulf after its proposal to delay debt payments risked triggering the biggest sovereign default since Argentina in 2001. The cost of protecting government notes from Abu Dhabi to Bahrain rose, extending the biggest increase since February as Dubai World, with $59 billion of liabilities, sought a “standstill” agreement from creditors. Bonds of its property unit, Nakheel PJSC, mature Dec. 14. Dubai contracts climbed 131 basis points to 571, the most since they began trading in January, adding to 120 yesterday, CMA Datavision prices showed. “There is nothing investors dislike more than this kind of event,” said Norval Loftus , the head of convertible bonds and Islamic debt at Matrix Group Ltd. in London, which manages $2.5 billion of assets including Dubai credits. “The worst-case scenario will of course be involuntary restructuring on the Nakheel security that brings into question the entire nature of the sovereign support for various borrowers in the region.” Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s cut the ratings on state companies yesterday, saying they may consider state-controlled Dubai World’s plan to delay debt payments a default. The sheikhdom, ruled by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, borrowed $80 billion in a four-year construction boom that reduced its reliance on falling oil supplies and created the region’s tourism and financial hub. ‘Further Defaults’ “Dubai is the most indicative of the huge global liquidity boom and now in the aftermath there will be further defaults to come in emerging markets and globally,” said Nick Chamie , head of emerging-market research at Toronto-based RBC Capital Markets. Stocks, bonds and currencies fell across developing countries. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index of stocks dropped 1.1 percent, led by declines in China and Russia. South Africa’s rand weakened 1.6 percent against the dollar and the Turkish lira slumped 1.2 percent. Hungary’s forint lost 1.1 percent per euro. Credit-default swaps on Russia increased to 211 basis points from 192. Gulf region default swaps jumped, with contracts linked to Bahrain rising 37 basis points today to 231.5, the biggest increase since Feb. 18. Contracts linked to Abu Dhabi rose the most since February yesterday, climbing 36 basis points to 136.5 and were quoted at 134.5 at 8:58 a.m. in London, according to London-based CMA. Qatar default swaps advanced 11 basis points to 115, adding to the same increase yesterday, the biggest gain since September. Saudi Debts Saudi Arabia contracts climbed the most since June yesterday, adding 15 basis points to 90. The British Bankers’ Association asked the U.K. government to intervene with Saudi authorities over debts of at least $20 billion owed to as many as 100 banks by Saad Group and Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Brothers Co., two family holding companies based in the oil city of Al- Khobar, according to a letter dated Nov. 20. Credit-default swaps pay the buyer face value in exchange for the underlying securities or the cash equivalent should a company fail to adhere to its debt agreements. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point and is equivalent to $1,000 a year on a contract protecting $10 million of debt. Dubai’s contracts, which increase as perceptions of credit quality deteriorate, are the fifth most expensive worldwide, exceeding Iceland’s and Latvia’s. Argentina Default Default swaps on Dubai World unit DP World Ltd., the Middle East’s biggest port operator, jumped by a record 181 basis points to 540.5 yesterday and were priced at 539.5 today, according to CMA data. “DP World and its debt are not included in the restructuring process for Dubai World,” the government said in a statement to Nasdaq Dubai today. The price of Nakheel’s bonds fell to 84.5 cents on the dollar from 110.5 on Nov. 24, according to Citigroup Inc. prices on Bloomberg. UBS AG, Switzerland’s largest bank, said it expects the U.A.E. will prevent a default by Nakheel. Dubai is one of seven sheikhdoms in the U.A.E. that includes Abu Dhabi, which holds 8 percent of the world’s oil reserves and bought $5 billion of bonds sold by Dubai yesterday through state-controlled banks. Unlike Argentina, which stopped payments on $95 billion of debt eight years ago after yields on benchmark bonds more than doubled in four months to more than 40 percent, Dubai’s announcement yesterday “was a surprise,” said Alia Moubayed , a London-based economist at Barclays Plc. Standstill Agreement The government raised $1.93 billion last month in its first sale of Islamic bonds, attracting more than $6.3 billion of orders. The dollar-denominated securities due 2014, which are governed by Shariah laws barring investors from profiting from the exchange of money, dropped to 8.1 percent today to 89.5 cents, lifting the yield to 9.1 percent from 6.2 percent on Nov. 24, according to ING Groep NV prices on Bloomberg. “The uncertainty and unpredictability around upcoming debt repayments implied by” yesterday’s announcement “will add to pressure on Dubai spreads, which may lead to a re-pricing of Dubai and U.A.E. risk,” Moubayed wrote in a report yesterday. Dubai World will ask creditors for a “standstill” agreement as it negotiates to extend maturities, including $3.52 billion of Islamic bonds due Dec. 14 from Nakheel PJSC, Dubai’s Department of Finance said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. Sheikh Mohammed removed the chairman of Dubai World from the board of Dubai’s main holding company, the Investment Corporation of Dubai, last week. Dubai World had $59.3 billion in liabilities and $99.6 billion in total assets at the end of 2008, subsidiary Nakheel Development Ltd., said in an August statement. Dubai owes $4.3 billion next month and $4.9 billion in the first quarter of 2010 through government and corporate debt, Deutsche Bank AG data show. Writedowns Dubai World’s more than 70 creditors face the prospect of writedowns on as much as $60 billion of debt if they haven’t unloaded their holdings and the state-owned company fails to win additional support from Abu Dhabi. The biggest creditors are Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Emirate NBD PJSC. Other lenders include Credit Suisse Group AG, HSBC Holdings Plc, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group Plc and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, according to a person familiar with the situation. Emaar Properties PJSC, U.A.E.’s biggest developer, was cut by four levels to Ba2, two steps below investment grade, by Moody’s. Jebel Ali Free Zone, an operator of business parks, and DIFC Investments were also cut to speculative-grade by Moody’s yesterday. DP World and Dubai Electricity & Water Authority were lowered by two levels to Baa2, two levels above junk. Moody’s and S&P said they may cut ratings further. The debt “restructuring may be considered a default under our default criteria,” S&P said in a statement. Abu Dhabi Program Borrowing from Abu Dhabi state banks accounted for half the $10 billion Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed said he planned to raise by yearend. He said Nov. 9 the program will be “well received,” and those who doubt the unity of Dubai and Abu Dhabi should “shut up.” Sheikh Mohammed turned to Abu Dhabi’s central bank on Feb. 23 to raise $10 billion by selling debt. The emirate’s credit default swaps dropped 178 basis points that day, after trading for a record 976 basis points. “It’s very important to resolve this in a way that will minimize contagion across the region,” Matrix Group’s Loftus said. To contact the reporter on this story: Arif Sharif in Dubai at asharif2@bloomberg.net

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How Big Is Too Big? Two New Bills Try To Answer That Question

November 26, 2009

As legislation on restructuring the banking industry moves forward, attention on Capitol Hill is increasingly drawn to the issue of bank size. Should our biggest banks be made smaller?

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Video: Hayes Doubts U.K. Will Act in Isolation on Bank Bonuses: Video

November 26, 2009

Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Simon Hayes, head of financial services at Odgers Berndtson, talks with Bloomberg’s Rishaad Salamat about changes to U.K. bank bonus rules and corporate governance proposed by David Walker in a government-commissioned report. Walker, a senior adviser to Morgan Stanley & Co., today said banks should delay bonus payments for as much as five years and have the power to “claw back” awards. Hayes speaks in London. (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: Hayes Doubts U.K. Will Act in Isolation on Bank Bonuses: Video

November 26, 2009

Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Simon Hayes, head of financial services at Odgers Berndtson, talks with Bloomberg’s Rishaad Salamat about changes to U.K. bank bonus rules and corporate governance proposed by David Walker in a government-commissioned report. Walker, a senior adviser to Morgan Stanley & Co., today said banks should delay bonus payments for as much as five years and have the power to “claw back” awards. Hayes speaks in London. (Source: Bloomberg)

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Stores Open On Thanksgiving Day 2009: Walmart, Kmart Among Retailers Open Thanksgiving

November 26, 2009

While many stores are closed for the holiday, some retailers are open on this Thanksgiving Day 2009. According to Yahoo , the following stores will have Turkey Day hours: Wal-Mart: Most stores will be open 24 hours on Thanksgiving. Kmart: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving. The Gap: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Banana Republic: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Old Navy: noon to 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving. For those looking for a snack, many Starbucks and McDonald’s locations across the country will also be open on Thanksgiving. As for some other stores, Target locations will be closed until the morning of Black Friday, while Toys “R” Us, Bath & Body Works, and Victoria’s Secret each open at 12 a.m. Thanksgiving night. Check local news Web sites for a more comprehensive list of closings and openings for Thanksgiving Day. Many local sites have such list, like this one from Rockford, Illinois.

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Larry Gruttemeyer's Page – Commercial Real Estate Professional …

November 26, 2009

CREPIG(tm) Commercial Real Estate – Distressed Commercial Property – CRE Funding – Investments – Deal Forum – Blog – News [Asset-Backed Securities, Audio Visual, Banking, Bloomberg, Commercial Mortgage Backed, Commercial Real Estate , …

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`Screaming Hot’ TVs, $5 Toys Abound as Walmart, Kohl’s Push for Shoppers

November 26, 2009
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California Home Market Turned Corner to Recovery, Realtors Economist Says

November 26, 2009
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Mortgage Rates for 30-Year U.S. Home Loans Match Record Low Set in April

November 26, 2009
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Obama Will Lay Out Afghan War Strategy in Speech at West Point on Dec. 1

November 26, 2009
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European Loans Posted Second Straight Annual Decline in October, ECB Says

November 26, 2009
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Screaming Hot TVs Abound as Walmart, Kohls Push for Shoppers

November 26, 2009
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Wacom Plans to Raise Touch-Screen Panel Output as Windows 7 Drives Demand

November 26, 2009

By Shunichi Ozasa Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Wacom Co. , the world’s biggest maker of electronic pens, aims to increase production of computer touch-screen panels fivefold next year as the release of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 7 boosts demand from computer makers. The Japanese company aims to raise monthly production of multitouch panels to about 500,000 by mid-next year from 100,000, President Masahiko Yamada said. Higher orders are expected from Lenovo Group Ltd., Toshiba Corp., Fujitsu Ltd. and other computer makers, he said. “We need to increase production to meet the voracious demand,” Yamada said in an interview yesterday. Wacom is competing with Israeli closely held company N-trig for the leading share of the $200 million market for computer panels that allow people to use more than one finger at a time to navigate and perform commands. The global market is expected to grow to $786 million by 2012, driven by the release last month of the Windows 7 operating system that supports touch- screen devices, Yoshiki Yuge , an analyst at Daiwa Securities SMBC Co., said in an Oct. 22 report. Wacom shares rose 3.1 percent to close at 178,500 yen in Tokyo, taking its gain this year to 130 percent. The benchmark Topix index declined 0.5 percent. It started making multitouch panels in August and outsources production to a number of hardware makers. The company, which expects sales to rise 5 percent to 35.5 billion yen ($409 million) in the year ending March, declined to provide a revenue forecast for its panel segment. Wacom, based in Saitama, north of Tokyo, said it has 90 percent of the global market for pens used on touch-screen displays. To contact the reporter on this story: Shunichi Ozasa in Tokyo at sozasa@bloomberg.net

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BASF Said to Consider Styrene Joint Venture en Route to Exiting the Market

November 26, 2009

By Richard Weiss Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — BASF SE , the world’s biggest chemical company, is in talks to form a styrene joint venture as a prelude to exiting the market, a company official with knowledge of the situation said. Negotiations are at early stages and may be prolonged by antitrust concerns, said the person, who declined to be identified as discussions are private. BASF is still pursuing a sale of the business, and Middle Eastern and private equity buyers are the most likely candidates, the person said. The talks signal BASF is willing to accept a compromise after failing to find a buyer for factories that make styrene, used in CD cases and televisions. An earlier attempt to sell the unit to Rotterdam-based LyondellBasell Industries fell through after the financial crisis and slumping demand forced the chemical maker to seek bankruptcy protection. “There is no other alternative to sale, joint venture or shutdown,” Fitch Group Inc. director Oliver Kroemker said in an interview. “We expect transactions sometime in 2010.” BASF’s efforts to exit the styrene market come as Dow Chemical Co. seeks to sell rival plants. The companies are retreating from a market that could increasingly be dominated by nations including Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, where both lower feedstock costs and the growing Chinese market are closer to hand. BASF Chief Executive Officer Juergen Hambrecht said Oct. 29 he is working on divesting styrene. There’s “nothing new to report” on the divestment process, spokesman Gareth Rees said today. Global styrene demand will contract a second year in 2009, leaving record overcapacity in the market, Chemical Market Associates Inc. said in an October report. Consolidation in the polystyrene market has led the number of major suppliers to fall to five from 11 in the 1990s. To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Noel in London on anoel@bloomberg.net

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Patron’s Tequila to Push Autos and Beers Off `Blockbuster’ U.S. Billboards

November 26, 2009

By Andrew Cleary Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Patron Spirits International , which outspent all other U.S. liquor brands on marketing last year, plans to grab more “blockbuster” billboards, ousting auto, phone and beer ads to catch up with tequila rival Jose Cuervo. Patron, controlled by shampoo billionaire John Paul Dejoria , this year gained control of a 225-foot-tall billboard, New York’s largest, near Penn Station. Formerly held by AT&T Inc., the billboard says shoppers can “eliminate regifting” by buying Patron for their loved ones this weekend, the busiest of the U.S. Christmas shopping season. Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. says such a billboard can cost $1 million a year. Chief Operating Officer John McDonnell said the third- biggest U.S. tequila maker is raising its marketing budget by 10 percent to secure similar billboards in the 10 biggest U.S. spirits markets. Sales of Patron, which costs between $40 and $500 a bottle, rose 10.6 percent in the year to Sept. 6, Chicago-based researcher Information Resources Inc. says. Patron is “taking advantage of opportunities that haven’t been available in the past, like choice outdoor locations,” McDonnell said yesterday. “Increased awareness and exposure is very much attributable to our advertising.” Las Vegas-based Patron may pick up sites being vacated by automakers, he said. A Patron ad replaced Heineken NV on a billboard above the I-93 expressway in McDonnell’s home town of Boston last year. Heineken, which is cutting costs like advertising to stay profitable, saw U.S. sales of its Dutch beer plunge 12 percent by volume in the first half. Diageo Plc , the largest liquor maker and Cuervo’s U.S. distributor, cut its marketing spending by 9 percent in the year ended June 30. Seagram Veteran For Patron, “it is particularly smart to increase that spend,” said Tom Sebok , chief executive officer of advertising firm Young & Rubicam North America. “Those who are aggressive will get long-term dividends. Those who aren’t will have a much harder time clawing back in better times.” Patron, which also owns Ultimat vodka, may buy more brands, McDonnell said. The veteran of Seagram Co. said the company has no debt, and declined to provide sales or profit figures. Larger tequila rivals Casa Cuervo SA de CV and Fortune Brands Inc. ’s Sauza, which both sell for less than Patron, saw their revenue decline 2.4 percent and 8.9 percent, respectively, while total U.S. liquor sales rose 1.6 percent over the same period, according to Information Resources. Patron is also spending more to secure inside covers and pull-outs in magazines including GQ, Sports Illustrated, and Forbes, McDonnell said in an earlier interview in London. “You have to have these blockbuster positions,” he said. The company generates 90 percent of its revenue in the U.S. and spent $50.9 million on advertising its tequila in 2008, more than any other liquor brand, Taylor Nelson Sofres Plc says. Dejoria, worth $2.5 billion according to Forbes, founded Patron in 1989 with business partner Martin Crowley , who died in 2003. His passing sparked a four-year battle between Dejoria and Bacardi Ltd., with both claiming to have had an offer accepted by Crowley’s estate. The two parties reached an out-of-court agreement and split Crowley’s stake, giving Dejoria control. Bacardi and Patron both declined to give more ownership details. To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Cleary in London at acleary7@bloomberg.net .

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Vale, Alcoa Consider Building Colombia Aluminum Smelters on Price Rebound

November 26, 2009

By Heather Walsh Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Vale SA and Alcoa Inc. may build aluminum smelters in Colombia, requiring investments of more than $2 billion per plant, once prices for the metal rebound, Energy and Mining Minister Hernan Martinez said. The smelters would be Colombia’s first and could be located on the nation’s Atlantic coast, Martinez said yesterday in an interview in Bogota. Vale, the world’s largest iron-ore miner, and Alcoa, the top U.S. aluminum producer, may be “waiting” for a demand rebound before deciding to move ahead, he said. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has sought to lure foreign investments in metals refining, mines and oil output since quelling guerilla attacks after taking office in 2002. The Mining & Energy Ministry expects companies to spend $48.3 billion on oil, mining and electricity between 2010 and 2015. New electricity plants in Colombia could help power projects to smelt imported alumina by Vale and Alcoa, Martinez said yesterday in a speech in Bogota. Vale said in January 2008 that its board hadn’t yet decided on the projects, which would need competitive energy supplies. A spokeswoman for Rio de Janeiro-based Vale, who said she can’t be identified because of company policy, and Alcoa spokesman Kevin Lowery declined to comment. Aluminum for three-month delivery has rallied 33 percent this year on the London Metal Exchange. The rebound has lagged behind other metals including lead and copper, which have more than doubled. To contact the reporter on this story: Heather Walsh in Santiago at hlwalsh@bloomberg.net

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Hitachi Bullet Train to Challenge France’s Record-Setting TGV on Home Turf

November 26, 2009

By Chris Jasper Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Hitachi Ltd. , maker of the 186 mile per hour (300 kph) Bullet Train , will bid against the French- built TGV on its home soil as the Japanese company targets a European rail market that’s the biggest in the world. Hitachi, whose high-speed train sales in the region have been limited to the U.K., will offer the latest Shinkansen- series model to replace TGVs run by French state rail operator SNCF and built by Paris-based Alstom SA , said Mac Motraghi, head of sales at the Asian company’s European rail unit. “We’re having informal discussions,” Motraghi said in an interview at Tokyo-based Hitachi’s depot in Ashford, England, where it services Javelin high-speed commuter units . “The French market has always been Alstom and perhaps our chances of winning there are not that great, but to be a serious rail player in Europe you have to get involved.” Prospects for sales in France may be helped by concerns at SNCF about the cost of new rolling stock, the executive said, adding that the French company is expected to issue a request for bids next year. Hitachi will also compete for German orders to replace older versions of the ICE high-speed model made by Munich-based Siemens AG , Europe’s biggest engineering company. “It’s out, now, that Hitachi are active here and we get approached by the train operating companies,” Motraghi said. “We see high speed expanding throughout Europe and we want to be a part of that. I think it’s very realistic.” SNCF Tender SNCF, or Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Francais, may issue a tender for a new generation of high-speed trains as early as next year, with the contract open to bids from any supplier, spokesman Philippe Mirville said by telephone. The company has more than 300 TGVs and 83 awaiting delivery. Alstom said Hitachi may find it tough to penetrate a European market that’s complicated by the variety of railway systems and requirements for cross-border running. “The Japanese industry is a very serious one and their ability and technology isn’t in doubt, but they will face some difficulties,” Jean-Noël Debroise, product-strategy manager at Alstom’s Transportation unit, said in a telephone interview today. “We know the customer better than them.” Siemens has won five of eight contracts tendered since 2002 in the super-high speed segment for trains faster than 300 kph, giving it confidence in a product range led by the new Velaro model, spokeswoman Anja Uhlendorff said. Unlike the ICE, the Velaro was developed without a partner as the German company seeks to maximize its market share, she said. The Shinkansen — meaning “new main line” in Japanese and referring originally to the dedicated tracks on which it runs — grabbed the world rail speed record on its introduction in 1964. The model was dubbed the “bullet train” overseas because of its then-unrivalled speed and streamlined design. Busiest Network The Japanese high-speed network is the world’s busiest, carrying 151 million people in the 12 months through March 2008, according to Central Japan Railway Co. TGVs run by SNCF moved 98 million passengers last year, its Web site says. Alstom says it has built 70 percent of all trains able to travel at more than 300 kilometers per hour. The TGV, or Train a Grande Vitesse, was introduced in 1981, captured the speed record in 1990 and has held it ever since, setting a new high of 575 kph in 2006 using a modified vehicle running on a new railway line in eastern France. Hitachi sold 29 Javelins to Go-Ahead Group Plc for use on the U.K. section of the Channel Tunnel rail link, the country’s only line able to carry trains at 140 mph or more, and to shift people from central London to the site of the 2012 Olympics. The new units will begin a full roster of U.K. services next month. Open Market Britain, with no major train manufacturer and a network run by listed companies, is Europe’s most open market and has provided a bridgehead for exports in the region, Motraghi said. “Some of the markets in Europe are more mature than others, but there are new projects all the time,” he said. “Capacity needs to be expanded and rolling stock replaced, so there are plenty of opportunities. We are in Europe to stay.” Hitachi will offer to build trains outside Japan for the first time in order to win orders, Motraghi said. The Javelin trains were exported from Tokyo but a U.K. contract for hundreds of units to replace 35-year-old High Speed Trains on routes from London will require a major manufacturing presence, he said. Motraghi said the Japanese company is also encouraged by developments in the U.S., where the economic stimulus package passed by Congress in February included $8 billion to develop a high-speed network and President Barack Obama in April identified 10 potential corridors where the trains might run. “We are a world player in railways and wherever there is a major project we would like to be involved in that,” he said. “The American market has its own challenges but we are more than happy to go in there.” Given the size of the U.S. project, Hitachi is most likely to bid with its Shinkansen allies and a local partner, Motraghi said. SNCF said in September it may bid to build and run routes in California, Florida, Texas and Chicago. To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Jasper in London at cjasper@bloomberg.net

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China Sets First Target to Lower Emissions After U.S. Offers 17% Reduction

November 26, 2009

By Bloomberg News Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — China, the world’s biggest polluter, set its first target aimed at slowing the growth of carbon dioxide emissions, less than two weeks before global leaders meet to negotiate a new climate change treaty. China’s announcement comes a day after the United States offered to cut emissions by about 17 percent in the coming decade. China will cut output of carbon per unit of gross domestic product by between 40 percent and 45 percent by 2020 compared with 2005 levels, according to a statement from the State Council, or cabinet, issued in Beijing today. Given the “magnitude of the climate change crisis, China needs stronger measures,” said Ailun Yang, a Beijing-based campaigner for Greenpeace China. Still, “this is a significant announcement at a very important point in time” and “another challenge to the industrialized world,” she said. The target gives the world’s fastest-growing major economy new negotiating points heading into the Copenhagen conference starting Dec. 7. Premier Wen Jiabao and U.S. President Barack Obama are among at least 66 global leaders who will seek to reach agreement on a framework for a final accord to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. Negotiations leading up to the summit have been stymied as industrialized nations and developing countries disagreed on issues such as emissions-reduction targets and how much financial help rich nations should provide to poor ones. “The United States is the biggest developed country in the world, so it should shoulder its historic responsibilities and obligations suitable to its national development level,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in Beijing today. Legislation Stalled China and India have said industrialized countries must be willing to cut their carbon output 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 if they expect poorer nations to agree to long-term reduction goals. The U.S. will be offering cuts “in the range of 17 percent” from 2005 levels by 2020, Carol Browner , Obama’s top adviser on energy and the environment, told reporters yesterday. That also marked the first time the U.S. has offered such a target. U.S. legislation backed by Obama to cut greenhouse gases and establish a market for the trading of pollution allowances passed the House in June and then stalled in the Senate. China’s targets do not mean emissions will fall, only that their growth may slow. China’s economy has more than quadrupled since 2000 to $4.3 trillion and if growth continues at that pace the country’s carbon pollution will also continue to grow. Unfair Targets President Hu Jintao in September first pledged to cut China’s so-called carbon intensity, or the amount of the pollutant emitted per unit of economic growth, by a “notable margin.” At the time, Hu didn’t announce specific targets. China has resisted calls for it to cut its carbon output, saying such measures are unfair for a developing country to undertake. Yu Qingtai, a climate-change negotiator with China’s Foreign Ministry, told reporters yesterday that rich countries such as the U.S., Japan and Germany are responsible for 80 percent of the carbon-dioxide pollution now in the atmosphere. Instead, China is pushing the development of alternative energy such as solar and wind, with a goal of generating 15 percent of all electricity from such sources by 2020. The world’s biggest photovoltaic solar plant, to be built by Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar Inc ., is set to break ground next year in Inner Mongolia. China is also working to increase energy efficiency. China also plans to increase its forest cover by 40 million hectares by 2020, which amounts to planting 60 billion trees, Yu Qingtai, a Chinese Foreign Ministry climate-change negotiator, told reporters on Nov. 25. To contact the reporter on this story: Ying Wang in Beijing at ywang30@bloomberg.net ; Baizhen Chua in Beijing at bchua14@bloomberg.net ; Michael Forsythe in Beijing at mforsythe@bloomberg.net .

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Goldman Sachs’s Hong Kong-Based Michael Evans Sells $12 Million of Stock

November 26, 2009

By Christine Harper Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Michael Evans , the Hong Kong-based vice chairman who was Goldman Sachs Group Inc. ’s highest-paid executive officer last year, sold $12 million of stock this week, according to a company filing. Evans, 52, sold 70,000 shares at prices ranging from $170.98 to $173.47 on Nov. 23 and Nov. 24, according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing showed he retained 714,953 shares, which are worth $121 million at today’s closing share price of $168.92. Goldman Sachs, the most profitable securities firm in Wall Street history, set a record for compensation in 2007. The company slashed pay last year and had its first quarterly loss. Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein , 55, and his six top deputies, including Evans, agreed to forgo annual bonuses. Evans, who is also chairman of Goldman Sachs’s Asia business, received total compensation last year of $5.3 million, including $1.7 million in tax equalization payments and $387,598 for international assignment benefits. Blankfein made $1.1 million in the period. Blankfein and three other executives are prohibited from selling any more than 10 percent of their stock under an agreement reached last year with billionaire investor Warren Buffett , whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc. paid $5 billion for preferred stock and warrants in Goldman Sachs. Evans is not covered by that agreement. Another senior executive not covered by the agreement is Michael Sherwood , the firm’s London-based vice chairman and co- head of the European business. Sherwood, 44, exercised options on 158,125 shares over seven days from Nov. 13 to Nov. 23, according to regulatory filings. Fund Investments The options let Sherwood purchase the stock at prices of $82.875 or $91.61, about half the current level, before selling them at prices ranging from $171.43 to $178.05, booking a profit of about $13.7 million. Still, the company’s top 10 executives received $49.6 million from their investments in hedge funds and private equity funds during 2008, more than most of them earned in compensation after agreeing to forgo bonuses. Blankfein’s $1.1 million in total compensation was dwarfed by the $11.3 million he received in profits and other income from his fund investments, a proxy filing from the company showed earlier this year. To contact the reporter on this story: Christine Harper in New York at charper@bloomberg.net .

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Dubai’s Debt Delay Rattles Investor Confidence in Persian Gulf Borrowers

November 26, 2009

By Laura Cochrane and Tal Barak Harif

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Stocks Slump, Bonds Rise as Dubai Roils Markets; Credit-Default Swaps Soar

November 26, 2009

By David Merritt Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — European stocks fell the most in three weeks and bonds jumped after Dubai’s attempt to reschedule its debt rattled investors seeking higher returns in emerging markets. The dollar dropped to a 14-year low against the yen. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index retreated 2.1 percent at 10:25 a.m. in London. The Shanghai Composite Index slumped 3.6 percent, its biggest drop since August. Credit-default swaps tied to debt sold by Dubai rose 131 basis points to 571 according to CMA DataVision. U.S. markets are closed today for the Thanksgiving holiday. Dubai World, the government investment company burdened by $59 billion of liabilities, roiled markets around the world yesterday by seeking to delay repayment on much of its debt. The dollar’s slump to a 14-year low against the yen prompted Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fuji to say his government is watching currencies “very closely,” while traders said the Swiss central bank sold the franc after it climbed to the highest value against the euro since June 24. “Dubai isn’t doing risk appetite any favors at all and the markets remain in a vulnerable state of mind,” said Russell Jones , head of fixed-income and currency research in London at RBC Capital Markets. “We’re still in an environment where we’re vulnerable to financial shocks of any sort and this is one of those.” Sovereign Debt The Dubai announcement drove up the cost of protecting emerging-market sovereign debt against default. Contracts linked to Saudi Arabia climbed 23 to 113, while Bahrain rose 37 to 231.5, CMA prices show. Debt swaps linked to Abu Dhabi government bonds increased 23.5 to 160, Vietnam rose 31 to 244, Indonesia climbed 22 to 224 and Russia added 19 to 211. Credit- default swaps pay the buyer face value in exchange for the underlying securities or the cash equivalent should a borrower fail to adhere to its debt agreements. Vietnam’s dong, the world’s worst-performing currency, declined 3.3 percent against the dollar to a record low after the central bank devalued the currency to curb inflation. South Africa’s rand weakened 1.6 percent against the dollar as gold declined. The Turkish lira slumped 1.2 percent versus the greenback, and Hungary’s forint lost 1.1 percent per euro. Russia’s Micex Index fell 2.2 percent as commodities retreated. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index of 22 developing nations fell 1.1 percent. Property Slump Dubai, which borrowed $80 billion in a four-year construction boom to transform its economy into a regional tourism and financial hub, suffered the world’s steepest property slump in the global recession. Home prices fell 50 percent from their 2008 peak, according to Deutsche Bank AG. Banks around the world have written off more than $1.7 trillion as the credit crisis trashed the value of their assets. European bonds rose as investors fled to the relative safety of government debt. The yield on the 10-year U.K. gilt dropped 5 basis points 3.57 percent after falling earlier to the lowest level in more than a month. The 10-year German bund yield declined 6 basis points to 3.20 percent, a more than three-week low. Stocks fell from Shanghai to Tokyo and London. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index retreated 0.6 percent as Chinese banks dropped on concern they need to sell more shares to fund demand for loans. Bank of China Ltd. , which said this week it’s studying options to replenish funds, declined 3.5 percent. China Minsheng China Minsheng Banking Corp. became the first Chinese lender in four years to fall in its Hong Kong trading debut. The nation’s first privately owned lender slipped 3.1 percent after raising HK$30.1 billion ($3.9 billion) this month in the territory’s biggest public share sale since April 2007. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell to a four-month low as the dollar’s decline against the yen dimmed the earnings outlook for makers of electronics and cars. Canon Inc., the world’s largest maker of cameras and which gets 28 percent of sales from the Americas, lost 2.1 percent in Tokyo. Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest carmaker, slid 1.2 percent. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index retreated 1.2 percent. The U.S. stock market will be open for a half day of trading tomorrow. The yen climbed to as high as 86.30 per dollar, the strongest since July 1995, before trading at 86.84. The U.S. currency strengthened against all but the yen among its 16 most- traded counterparts, appreciating 1.7 percent to 72.04 cents versus the New Zealand dollar and advancing 1.5 percent to 7.4443 South African rand. Swiss Franc The Swiss franc weakened to as low as 1.5133 per euro, falling from the highest level since June, on speculation the Swiss National Bank sold the currency to curb its gains. The franc dropped 0.4 percent to 1.0007 against the dollar, after climbing to parity with the greenback yesterday for the first time in 19 months. The SNB declined to comment. Crude oil for January delivery fell 92 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $77.04 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange after a government report yesterday showed rising inventories. Gold for immediate delivery declined 0.4 percent to $1,186.53 an ounce in London trading, after touching an all-time high earlier today. To contact the reporter on this story: David Merritt in London at dmerritt1@bloomberg.net .

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Toyota cuts managers’ bonus by 20%

November 26, 2009

Toyota cuts managers’ bonus by 20%

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Focus Minerals Ltd (ASX:FML) Chairman Don Taig Address At Annual General Meeting

November 26, 2009

Focus Minerals Ltd (ASX:FML) Chairman Don Taig Address At Annual General Meeting

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Beach Petroleum Limited (ASX:BPT) Weekly Drilling Report Week ending 25 November 2009

November 26, 2009

Beach Petroleum Limited (ASX:BPT) Weekly Drilling Report Week ending 25 November 2009

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WestSide Corporation Limited (ASX:WCL) Drilling Report And Current Activity Update

November 26, 2009

WestSide Corporation Limited (ASX:WCL) Drilling Report And Current Activity Update

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Conquest Mining Limited (ASX:CQT) Chairman Richard Krasnoff Address At Annual General Meeting

November 26, 2009

Conquest Mining Limited (ASX:CQT) Chairman Richard Krasnoff Address At Annual General Meeting

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D’Aguilar Gold Limited (ASX:DGR) Appoints Mr Bill Stubbs As Non-Executive Director And Chairman

November 26, 2009

D’Aguilar Gold Limited (ASX:DGR) Appoints Mr Bill Stubbs As Non-Executive Director And Chairman

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iSOFT Group Limited (ASX:ISF) Boosts Patient Safety Solution Offering Through Acquisition Of PSI

November 26, 2009

iSOFT Group Limited (ASX:ISF) Boosts Patient Safety Solution Offering Through Acquisition Of PSI

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Strategic Minerals Corporation (ASX:SMC) Commences Drilling At New Big Vein Discovery, Mowbray Project QLD

November 26, 2009

Strategic Minerals Corporation (ASX:SMC) Commences Drilling At New Big Vein Discovery, Mowbray Project QLD

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Australian Market Report of November 26: Supported by Upbeat US Data

November 26, 2009

Australian Market Report of November 26: Supported by Upbeat US Data

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US: Claims for unemployment aid decline in October

November 26, 2009

US: Claims for unemployment aid decline in October

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India, US set agenda in five key areas

November 26, 2009

India, US set agenda in five key areas

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Dubai Shock After Debt Standstill Call

November 26, 2009

Dubai shocked investors by asking for a debt standstill at Dubai World, the government’s flagship holding company that has developed some of the world’s most extravagant real estate projects

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Video: BofA’s Pearson Says Dollar to Extend Decline Against Yen: Video

November 26, 2009

Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Steven Pearson, head of G-10 currency strategy at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research, talks about the outlook for the dollar against the yen. The Japanese currency advanced today as high as 86.30 yen per dollar, the strongest since July 1995. Pearson, speaking with Bloomberg’s Rishaad Salamat and David Tweed from London, also talks about the Swiss franc and the euro. (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: Purcell Says Five-Year Bank Bonus Delay `Way Too Long’: Video

November 26, 2009

Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — John Purcell, managing director of executive search firm Purcell & Company, talks with Bloomberg’s Mark Barton about changes to U.K. bank bonus rules proposed by David Walker in a government-commissioned report. Walker, a senior adviser to Morgan Stanley & Co., today said banks should delay bonus payments for as much as five years and have the power to “claw back” awards. Purcell speaks in London. (Source: Bloomberg)

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Dubai World seeks debt standstill

November 26, 2009

This debt-laden city-state said Wednesday it would restructure its largest corporate entity, Dubai World, a conglomerate spanning real estate and ports, and announced a six-month standstill on the group’s debt

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Video: Cantor’s Parpart Sees Yen Strength `Burning Itself Out’: Video

November 26, 2009

Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Uwe Parpart, chief economist and strategist for Asia at Cantor Fitzgerald HK Capital Markets, talks with Bloomberg’s Mark Barton about the outlook for the yen versus the dollar. Speaking in Hong Kong, Parpart also discusses asset bubbles. (Source: Bloomberg)

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Four Seasons Hotel Sweeps Michelin 3-Star Restaurant Awards in Hong Kong

November 26, 2009

By Mark McCord Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — The Michelin Guide gave top honors to three restaurants in Hong Kong and Macau, all housed in top- tier hotels, in the sophomore edition of the annual review of the southern Chinese cities’ eateries. French restaurant Caprice added one star this year to score the best-possible three-star rating, joining Cantonese eatery Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons Hotel as Michelin’s top- ranked Hong Kong restaurants in the guide’s 2010 edition. Veteran chef Joel Robuchon retained his five Michelin stars, including three for his Galera a Robuchon in Macau, based in the casino haven’s Hotel Lisboa. Awarding top honors to hotel restaurants showed the “mentality of the business in Hong Kong, where named chefs are not found in stand-alone street restaurants, like in North America or Europe,” said Allan Zeman , chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Holdings Ltd., which manages properties in Hong Kong’s largest bar and nightlife district. “Reviewers from overseas tend to gravitate first to restaurants in the hotels they stay in. If you really get into the local culture you will find that Hong Kong has the best Chinese restaurants in the world.” This edition reviewed 245 restaurants and 53 in Macau, 86 more than its debut publication, and awarded nine establishments with two-star awards and 39 with one-star gongs, compared to eight and 18, respectively, in the 2009 debut edition. Expanded Review The expanded review comes after Hong Kong emerged from a yearlong recession in the second quarter when the economy grew 3.3 percent. The city’s benchmark Hang Seng Index is also climbing, spurred by China’s record lending and its 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package. Two-thirds of the 51 star-rated venues in Hong Kong and Macau are housed in hotels or high-end shopping centers and just over half serve Cantonese cuisine. Among the new inclusions in Macau are Lei Garden in Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s sprawling 3,000- room Venetian Macau Resort-Hotel, and Wing Lei in Wynn Resorts Ltd.’s Wynn Macau casino and hotel. Zeman said he hoped that as the Michelin Guide became more established in the cities, it would include more local restaurants. “Last year’s guide attracted criticism from managers of Chinese restaurants who said not enough were included,” Zeman said. “Until it gets recognized by the Chinese-restaurant community, a Michelin award will remain just another award.” Three Asian Editions After launching its first Asian guide in Tokyo in 2007, Michelin now publishes three Asian editions, the Osaka/Kyoto version launched this year being the newest. The 2010 guide to Tokyo, published Nov. 17, established the Japanese capital as the most-starred city, with 11 three-star restaurants, overtaking Paris, whose 2010 edition will be published in March. The guide’s top-rated venues bring to 82 the number of eateries worldwide awarded Michelin’s highest accolade. Caprice is the newest addition to the exclusive club after it won two stars last year. It serves modern French cuisine, with dishes such as Duck Foie Gras Terrine and Normandy Sole Fillet with Baby Artichoke and Winkle Fricassee. Main courses cost upward of HK$400 ($52). Michelin says it rates restaurants for their food and drink based on a set of “unpublished criteria.” One star indicates a very good restaurant, two means excellent cuisine worthy of a detour, while three denotes exceptional cuisine deserving of a “special journey,” Michelin says. Michelin & Cie., the world’s largest tiremaker, has been publishing its restaurant and hotel guides since 1900, at the start of the automotive era. Distributed for free until 1920, the guide was originally meant for chauffeurs and included tips on using and repairing tires. To contact the reporters on this story: Mark McCord in Hong Kong at Mmcord2@bloomberg.net

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Iverson Says He Plans to End 14-Year NBA Career After No Teams Sign Him

November 26, 2009

By Nancy Kercheval Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Allen Iverson , the four-time National Basketball Association scoring champion, plans to retire after he cleared waivers and no team signed him, according to a statement on the Web site of sports commentator Stephen A. Smith. “I always thought when I left the game, it would be because I couldn’t help my team the way that I was accustomed to,” Iverson was cited as saying yesterday in a statement on Smith’s Web site. “However, that is not the case.” The 34-year-old Iverson, an All-Star in 10 of the 14 years of his NBA career, was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies on Nov. 16. The New York Knicks decided against signing him because he would compete with the younger talent. “I still have tremendous love for the game, the desire to play, and a whole lot left in my tank,” Iverson added. “I feel strongly that I can still compete at the highest level.” Iverson joined Memphis as a free agent after playing most of last season for the Detroit Pistons. He made three appearances off the bench for the Grizzlies, averaging 12.3 points per game, before taking a leave of absence on Nov. 7 for personal matters. Nine days later, he was placed on waivers. Iverson began his career with the Philadelphia 76ers after becoming the No. 1 pick in the 1996 NBA draft. He played into his 11th season with Philadelphia before being traded to the Denver Nuggets early in the 2006-07 campaign. He was sent to the Pistons early last season and averaged 17.4 points and 4.9 assists in 54 games. Iverson said the chance to spend time with his family is “a reward that far exceeds anything that I’ve ever achieved on the basketball court.” To contact the reporter on this story: Nancy Kercheval in Washington at nkercheval@bloomberg.net .

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Putin Seeks Energy Partner, Car Rescue, Weapons Accord on Visit to France

November 26, 2009

By Lucian Kim Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will arrive in Paris today aiming to strengthen ties with France by enlisting energy partners, seeking a rescue for the crippled Russian car industry and discussing a pioneering defense accord. Putin will hold talks on the participation of Electricite de France SA, Europe’s biggest power producer, and GDF Suez SA in Russian pipeline projects, the role of Renault SA in the auto industry and the purchase of a French-made assault ship. Relations between the two nations have intensified since the election of President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007. Total SA joined OAO Gazprom’s Arctic Shtokman development and Renault, Europe’s second-biggest carmaker, bought a 25 percent stake in Lada-maker OAO AvtoVAZ. Sarkozy also built on trust developed by his predecessor Jacques Chirac to broker a peace that ended Russia’s five-day war with Georgia in 2008. “Sarkozy is extremely active, ambitious and businesslike, — in that sense he’s very close to Putin,” said Fyodor Lukyanov , editor of Russia in Global Affairs magazine. “Both represent countries that want to underscore their status as great nations. At the same time, they’re realistic, even mercantile.” Putin is scheduled to meet with French counterpart Francois Fillon and Chirac during the two-day visit, Yury Ushakov, the Russian premier’s deputy chief of staff, told reporters yesterday. A meeting with Sarkozy won’t take place as the French leader will be traveling, Ushakov said. Personal, Commercial During two terms as Russian president, Putin used personal relations with the leaders of Germany and Italy to develop close commercial ties based on energy. Former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder chairs Gazprom’s Nord Stream pipeline under the Baltic Sea; Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is the biggest European backer of the South Stream project under the Black Sea, in which Eni SpA has a 50 percent share. Should GDF become a shareholder in the northern pipeline and EDF take a stake in the southern route, Gazprom will win more allies in realizing the projects. “The Kremlin uses bilateralization, it’s a very traditional tool for Russian diplomacy,” said Thomas Gomart, director of the Russian Center at the French Institute of International Relations in Paris. “The Russians are using commercial and personal links created by Gazprom with national companies over many years.” Sarkozy has concluded that Russia is better engaged than isolated, Gomart said. Cooperation extends beyond energy, with Russia interested in French technology to renew its auto industry and modernize its armed forces. Cars, Ships An agreement on Renault’s role in turning AvtoVAZ into a competitive automaker is expected to be signed during Putin’s visit. The Russian government has said it would welcome Renault taking a controlling stake in the company. Russia is holding consultations on the possible purchase of a Mistral-class helicopter carrier from France, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said after meeting his French counterpart Herve Morin in Moscow last month. The deal would be unprecedented, as Sarkozy has made France a full-fledged member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Russia has built its own arms since the end of World War II. To contact the reporter on this story: Lucian Kim in Moscow at lkim3@bloomberg.net

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Payments From `Bloodthirsty’ Lawyers Return to Haunt British Car Insurers

November 26, 2009

By Kevin Crowley Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — U.K. motor insurers, including Aviva Plc , Admiral Group Plc and Fortis Insurance Ltd., thought they had found a way to squeeze out extra revenue when their customers get into car crashes. Four years later, the practice is costing them 18 times more than it earns and is helping to drive up auto premiums at the fastest rate on record. British insurers offer customers involved in an accident that wasn’t their fault a replacement car and free legal advice. In return for directing these customers to law firms and to car- rental firms such as Helphire Plc , the insurer typically receives from law firms and car rental firms a fee of up to 900 pounds. The aggressive pursuit of payouts by car-hire firms and lawyers from the insurer of the at-fault driver has bumped up claims across the industry, adding 10 percent to the cost of car insurance, or about 82 pounds ($136) a person, the Association of British Insurers said. “It’s such an appalling and inefficient process which adds nothing but cost and more noses in the trough feeding from those costs,” said David Williams, managing director of claims at Paris-based Axa SA , Europe’s second-largest insurer. “Referral fees are so close to being a kickback it’s astounding.” British insurers haven’t made an underwriting profit, which excludes investment income, for at least 11 years. They receive about 100 million pounds a year from car-rental companies and lawyers, according to the Accident Management Association , which lobbies for the car-rental industry. The problem is that it costs insurers even more when their customer is the driver at fault and they are on the paying end. Referral fees have fuelled a surge in legal fees and car-rental charges that’s costing the industry as much as 1.8 billion pounds a year, according to Axa. ‘Bloodthirsty Lawyers’ Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc , the U.K.’s biggest car insurer through its Direct Line and Churchill brands, said claims costs grew 21 percent to 941 million pounds in the third quarter compared with a year ago. “Driven in part by bloodthirsty lawyers, and in part by a recession, there is a spike across the industry in people making bodily injury claims in the motor book,” RBS Chief Executive Officer Stephen Hester told analysts on a Nov. 6 conference call. While insurers agree that payments to car-rental companies and personal injury lawyers, which aren’t illegal, are helping fuel claims inflation, the companies are at odds over a solution. Axa and Aviva are trying to reach agreements with rivals to cap the costs of car hire. Fortis, which sells insurance through Marks & Spencer Group Plc , is developing its own replacement-car service as a cheaper alternative to using external firms, director Rob Smale said in an interview. ‘Part of Industry’ Admiral, which makes half its profit from undisclosed “ancillary” earnings, doesn’t plan to abandon the practice. “We see this as the way the industry is and we are part of the industry,” CEO Henry Engelhardt said in an interview at his office in Cardiff, Wales. “We’ll do what we have to do to survive in this environment.” The referral payments are costing consumers in the U.K. The average car-insurance premium rose 5.6 percent to 821 pounds for an annual comprehensive policy in the three months to Sept. 30, the biggest quarterly jump since the Automobile Association Ltd. began tracking rates in 1994. Insurance companies, “whilst very critical of referral fees, are very good at becoming the recipients of them and dictating what the fees are,” said Martin Heskins, civil justice policy adviser at the Law Society, which represents British lawyers. ‘Everyone Does It’ Insurers, motor garages and brokers can earn up to 400 pounds for each non-fault driver they refer to car-rental firms, said Alan Gilbert , Helphire’s group technical director. The fee for directing a customer to a personal injury lawyer can be as much as 900 pounds, Axa’s Williams said. Aviva, Admiral and Fortis said they accepted such payments. RBS, RSA Group Plc and Zurich Financial Services AG declined to comment. Axa said it doesn’t receive referral fees. “Everyone else is doing it so you’re almost forced to go down that route to ensure the premiums you quote are as good as what everyone else is able to offer,” said Richard Ellis, Aviva’s head of motor and personal injury claims. The Ministry of Justice is planning a new compensation process, to be implemented next April, for all claims under 10,000 pounds that will fix lawyers’ fees and speed up payouts from insurers. Heskins of the Law Society said the system will apply to 80 percent of motor claims. “We recognize that the whole system of compensation isn’t working as it should,” said Malcolm Tarling , a spokesman for the ABI. “There are practices like referral fees that insurers will have to take a good hard long look at,” if the market is to be reformed, he said. The accusation that referrals boost the cost of insurance is “a nonsense,” according to Baker of the AMA, which represents the car-hire industry. “Hire tends to be used as an argument for insurers to justify higher premiums,” he said. To contact the reporter on this story: Kevin Crowley in London at kcrowley1@bloomberg.net

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British Banks Will Be Facing `World’s Toughest Bonus Rules,’ Walker Says

November 26, 2009

By Gavin Finch and Andrew MacAskill Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — U.K. banks will face the toughest bonus regime in the world if proposals outlined in a government- commissioned report are accepted, according to its author, Morgan Stanley & Co. Senior Adviser David Walker. Banks should delay bonus payments for as much as five years and have the power to “claw back” awards, Walker, 69, said in his final report on improvements to U.K. corporate governance released today. HSBC Holdings Plc , Europe’s biggest bank, objected to these proposals, saying they should be replaced by a requirement to comply with the Financial Services Authority’s existing remuneration code. “If we implement what I propose, we have a tougher regime than is in place in any jurisdiction in the world,” Walker said in a telephone interview yesterday. Unless remuneration policies are enforced, then companies “just won’t do it,” Walker said. The British government is seeking to assuage voter anger over bankers’ pay following more than a trillion pounds ($1.67 trillion) of publicly funded support to keep the country’s financial system afloat amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said after Walker’s interim report in July that the government would back the bonus plan. The Group of 20 leading industrial countries are reconsidering pay policies after an agreement in September to crackdown on excesses that helped trigger bank collapses. The Federal Reserve said last month that it will review practices at the 28 largest bank holding companies it regulates to ensure pay packages don’t encourage risk-taking. Germany’s financial- regulatory authority, BaFin, has asked all lenders to submit new pay policies by the end of the year. ‘Balanced’ Pay Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling asked Walker to review the link between pay and risk-taking and whether directors had done enough to prevent the decline of the financial industry. Walker called for pay to be “balanced,” so that at least half of bonuses are awarded using long-term incentives over a three-to-five-year period, with the other half in short-term bonuses paid in three years. No more than one-third could be paid in the first year. Banks should be allowed to “claw back” payments in cases of “misstatement and misconduct,” he said. The FSA gave U.K. banks until Nov. 2 to comply with a new remuneration code. The code stipulates that employee awards will be made up mostly of shares, rather than cash. ‘Limited Principles’ The interim report was criticized by banks and the industry’s main lobby group as overly detailed. The proposals should be “limited to broad principles” on pay, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc Chairman Philip Hampton wrote in an Oct. 1 submission to Walker. The British Bankers Association said Sept. 29 the review should cover “broader remuneration policies.” Banks should publish the number of employees earning more than 1 million pounds and split them into pay bands, including bonuses and pension contributions, in their annual reports, Walker recommended. The workers would not be named. That goes further than recommendations in the interim report that would have required banks to disclose only the number of employees earning more than the median compensation of board members. Walker’s interim report recommended U.K. banks should delay bonus payments, increase the policing powers of risk committees and bolster the responsibilities of chairmen to avert a repeat of the financial crisis. Today’s document reiterated these plans, along with a recommendation that banks should consider annual re-election of their boards by shareholders. Risk Management “Several” non-executive directors on any bank board should commit to working 30 days to 36 days a year for the company and should be told in writing that this may limit their ability to take on boardroom roles elsewhere. When this isn’t possible, details of the time commitment agreed should be available to shareholders, the report said. Banks and life insurers should create a committee to oversee the management of risk, including capital and liquidity, the report recommended. Fund managers and investors should disclose their voting record, the report said. Walker received about 180 written submissions from institutions ranging from banks and assets managers and unions following his interim report. Prime Minister Brown said last week he will respond “swiftly” to the proposals in the report. To contact the reporters on this story: Gavin Finch in London at gfinch@bloomberg.net ; Andrew MacAskill in London at amacaskill@bloomberg.net

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Dollar Weakens to 14-Year Low Versus Yen; European, Asian Stocks Decline

November 26, 2009

By Chua Kong Ho and Masaki Kondo Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — The dollar dropped to a 14-year low against the yen. Asian stocks declined, led by Japanese exporters, and European stocks fell. The yen strengthened 0.5 percent versus the dollar to 86.89 at 7:10 a.m. in London. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.4 percent and Japan’s Topix Index lost 0.5 percent, dragged down by automakers. The Dow Jones Stoxx Index of European companies lost 1 percent. Gold dropped 0.3 percent after earlier rising to a record $1,196.80 an ounce. The dollar fell to the lowest since July 1995 after the Federal Reserve said on Nov. 24 that its drop was “orderly,” a signal to traders that the U.S. won’t prop up the currency as the world’s largest economy recovers from the first global recession since World War II. The dollar’s decline threatens profits for Asia’s exporters after the MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 32 percent this year to trade at 1.5 times book value, up from 1.03 in March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “I’m not going to risk uncertainty when I’m sitting on nice gains for my portfolio,” said Roger Groebli , Singapore- based head of financial market analysis at LGT Capital Management, which oversees about $75 billion in assets. “The weak dollar is hurting Japanese exporters and their competitiveness.” ‘Watching These Movements’ Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said the government needs to take action on abnormal currency movements, remarks that failed to prevent the yen’s advance. “I am watching these movements, right now it’s time to watch them closely,” he told reporters in Tokyo today. “We need to take appropriate action against abnormal movements.” Fujii said yesterday that the dollar’s weakness is spurring the yen’s gain. Today he said “a strong U.S. dollar is in their national interest. There is no change in our support for that.” While the U.S. currency fell against the yen, the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against the currencies of six trading partners, rose 0.3 percent to 74.500 after reaching a 15-month low yesterday. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures fell 0.8 percent, and U.S. markets are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Fed officials said in minutes of their Nov. 3-4 meeting released on Nov. 24 that the dollar’s decline has been “orderly” and that they would watch for any signs that the depreciation is pushing up people’s expectations for inflation. Record-low interest rates might fuel “excessive” speculation in financial markets and possibly dislodge expectations for low inflation, according to the minutes. Policy makers agreed that the chances of such effects were “relatively low” and they will remain alert to the risks. Japan Stocks Japan’s Topix declined 0.5 percent to 829.56. Honda Motor Co. , which generated 42 percent of its sales from North America in the third quarter, lost 1.1 percent to 2,765 yen. Pioneer Corp. , which makes car-navigation and audio equipment, sank 0.4 percent to 240 yen. “The strong yen will curb a further rebound in corporate earnings and weigh on investor sentiment,” said Mitsushige Akino , who oversees the equivalent of $450 million in Tokyo at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 3.6 percent after China Minsheng Banking Corp. became the first of the nation’s lenders in four years to fall in its Hong Kong trading debut. Minsheng dropped 3.1 percent to HK$8.80 after raising HK$30.1 billion ($3.9 billion) in the city’s biggest public share sale since April 2007. China Banks The decline added to concerns about Asia’s banks, which need more capital. China’s five largest banks submitted preliminary plans to regulators earlier this week, according to four people with knowledge of the matter. Industrial & Commercial Bank, the world’s third-largest company by market value, lost 2.8 percent. Stocks rose earlier after Indonesia’s central bank raised its 2009 growth forecast to as much as 4.5 percent and economists estimated Taiwan will say later today that gross domestic product contracted the least in a year during the third quarter. U.S. indexes rose yesterday as U.S. reports showed new home sales beat analyst forecasts and jobless claims fell, spurring optimism the world’s largest economy is recovering from the first global recession since World War II. Australia’s currency declined 1.2 percent 92.11 U.S. cents, nearly undoing yesterday’s 1.4 percent surge on prospects the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise rates for a record third month next week. The so-called Aussie lost 1.7 percent against the yen after the nation’s statistics bureau said capital spending declined 3.9 percent from the previous quarter. The New Zealand dollar declined 1.4 percent to 72.22 U.S. cents. Taiwan Dollar Taiwan’s dollar was little changed at NT$32.24 to the U.S. currency. Gross domestic product shrank 2.6 percent in the three months through September, the least in a year, according to the median estimate of 17 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The government will announce the figures at about 5 p.m. in Taipei. Vietnam’s dong plunged as much as 3.4 percent to a record low of 18,500 against the dollar in Hanoi after the central bank devalued the currency to curb quickening inflation and a widening trade deficit. The VN Index sank 4.1 percent, the lowest since Aug. 7. Gold for immediate delivery climbed to as high as $1,195.13 an ounce, compared with yesterday’s close of $1,191.80. Zinc futures in Shanghai rallied as much as 1.8 percent to 19,000 yuan a ton before trading at 18,415 yuan. “Metals climbed across the board because of the dollar’s slump,” Zhu Yanzhong, an analyst at Jinrui Futures Co. said in an e-mailed report today. Oil Support Oil fell 1.2 percent to $77.05 a barrel in New York as traders sold contracts to lock in gains ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday and after the U.S. Energy Department said crude inventories at the world’s largest energy consumer rose. “We can expect some profit-taking selling after last night’s sharp gains, led by gold and the euro,” said Ken Hasegawa , a commodity derivatives sales manager at Newedge in Tokyo. “It’s possible to go as low as $76.50 — that’s the level before it started rising yesterday.” The economies of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s 30 member countries grew in the third quarter for the first time in more than a year led by a revival in output in Japan and the U.S., the OECD said in a statement this week. Dubai’s Department of Finance said yesterday that Dubai World, with $59 billion of liabilities, is seeking to delay debt payments. Contracts protecting Dubai against default climbed 122 basis points to 440 basis points yesterday, the most since they began trading in January, according to credit-default swap prices from CMA Datavision. To contact the reporter on the story: Chua Kong Ho in Shanghai at kchua6@bloomberg.net ; Masaki Kondo in Tokyo at mkondo3@bloomberg.net .

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Video: IHS’s Randolph Says Dubai Sovereign Risk Is ‘Overblown’

November 26, 2009

Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Jan Randolph, head of the sovereign risk group at IHS Global Insight, talks with Bloomberg’s Mark Barton about Dubai’s proposal to delay debt payments and the role neighboring emirate Abu Dhabi may play in easing the crisis. The state-controlled Dubai World, with $59 billion of liabilities, will ask creditors for a “standstill” agreement as it negotiates to extend maturities, including $3.52 billion of Islamic bonds due Dec. 14 from its property unit Nakheel PJSC, Dubai’s Department of Finance said yesterday. (Source: Bloomberg)

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